Two brothers fight to escape a violent and poor neighborhood in Caracas by playing soccer. Daniel wishes to play professionally while Julio supports the family with dirty money. The opportunity of a lifetime comes when a talent scout invites them to the Caracas Football Club. The boys' mother dies in a shootout forcing each brother to decide what it is more important to them:family, revenge, or achieving their dreams.
Scoring goals in soccer is hard. Hermano earns its points too easily.
– Scott Tobias,
AV Club,
23 Aug 2012
fresh:
Rasquin's cinema verite style brings power to the story, and he has coaxed some good performances out of his leads.
– G. Allen Johnson,
San Francisco Chronicle,
23 Aug 2012
rotten:
The over-the-top opening, which evokes baby Moses in the bulrushes, indicates grand ambitions, but unfortunately the gritty realism of Rasquin's cinematic style is just camouflage for another cliched sports flick.
– Kerry Lengel,
Arizona Republic,
23 Aug 2012
fresh:
The sports-as-savior theme is an old one, but this confident movie, alternately volatile and tender, coats its cliches in winningly natural performances and Enrique Aular's kinetic photography.
– Jeannette Catsoulis,
New York Times,
23 Aug 2012
fresh:
"Hermano" is well-trod acreage, but there's a vitality here that's easy to appreciate.